Alabama Rubberizes Asphalt Sustainability
BY AsphaltPro Staff
ADEM, State Parks, ADCNR receive award for resurfacing in Alabama state parks with RMA for sustainability
The Rubberized Asphalt Foundation, which is a research foundation dedicated to the science and practical use of recycled tire rubber in asphalt, presented its Leadership in Conservation and Sustainability Award to three agencies during the 2024 National Association of State Park Directors Conference.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), Alabama State Parks, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) received the national award jointly for partnering to promote the innovative use of recycled tires in recent paving projects at three state parks. The award recognized ADEM, Alabama State Parks and ADCNR for working together to advance the use of rubber-modified asphalt (RMA) made from recycled tires.
SmartMIX, a Liberty Tire Recycling dry mix rubber additive, was used in the Alabama rubberized asphalt state parks projects.
“The Alabama Agencies have been great to work with to develop specifications that can use the newer rubberized asphalt technologies, like SmartMIX,” said Doug Carlson, vice president of asphalt products at Liberty Tire Recycling. “As a result of their leadership, the market for rubberized asphalt is developing statewide. Five Alabama-based mix producers have gained the experience of working with the new dry process and engineering and design firms are beginning to use the specification to help improve the durability of the roads that are built or resurfaced while reducing the number of tires going to landfills.”
“The market development program has beneficially reused over 19,000 end-of-life tires in the paving of roads and parking lots in Lake Guntersville, DeSoto and Joe Wheeler State Parks,” the award stated. Let’s examine the sustainability efforts of these projects.
The 2024 National Association of State Park Directors Conference was held at Alabama’s Gulf State Park in early September.
$2 million in ADEM grants from Alabama’s Scrap Tire Fund helped fund repaving projects at three Alabama state parks and keep 156,797 pounds of tire material out of landfills. All photos courtesy of ADEM
How to Fund Innovation
The projects were funded primarily with about $2 million in grants provided in recent years by ADEM from the state’s Scrap Tire Fund, which is used to remove scrap tires from illegal dumps, roadsides and other places, as well as promote the recycling of tires, ADEM said in a press release.
“Improperly discarded old tires are an environmental hazard that can cause multiple problems,” ADEM Director Lance LeFleur said. “ADEM, working with our partners, is constantly looking for ways through various demonstration projects to create a market for old tires so they can be recycled rather than just thrown away. This award is recognition of that work and our partnership with ADCNR and State Parks. Our thanks to our partners and, of course, the Rubberized Asphalt Foundation for the award.”
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Alabama State Parks, a division of ADCNR, added some of its own funds so the paving would cover more areas in the parks.
“We have invested a lot of resources and effort to improve the campsites, cottages and other amenities at the parks,” Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship said. “The partnership with ADEM to use the rubber-modified asphalt to pave our roads complements what we have done and what we are continuing to do to upgrade these beautiful parks and make them even more appealing to our customers.
The Guntersville campground receives more than 500,000 visitors per year, proving the use of RMA took place in high-visibility areas.
“Repurposing the old tires instead of sending them to a landfill is good for our environment and fits well with our sustainability initiatives in our State Parks. I appreciate the opportunities to work with ADEM to do good work in our beautiful state.”
ADCNR used $829,000 provided by a grant from ADEM in 2022 to repave roads and parking areas at Lake Guntersville and DeSoto state parks with RMA. This spring, ADCNR and ADEM held a ribbon-cutting at Joe Wheeler State Park for roads and parking areas newly repaved with the special asphalt, a project funded by a $1.16 million ADEM grant.
The parking areas at the lodge, marina, cottage area and golf course pro shop at the Joe Wheeler State Park amounted to approximately 162,000 square feet of surfacing.
Executing Rubberized Projects
Studies have provided a long list of advantages to using asphalt made with recycled tires, including a quiet, smooth ride for taxpayers. RMA has been shown to reduce tire wear for the end user and offer good traction and reduced misting on wet roads, among other benefits that can be reviewed at the Rubberized Asphalt Foundation’s website. To take advantage of these benefits, the Alabama agencies repaved three areas.
At the Joe Wheeler State Park in spring 2024, the main roads were resurfaced using a balanced mix design (BMD) with recycled rubber additive, according to a spokesperson from ADEM’s office of external affairs. The roads are the principal roads used by the public to access the park’s lodge, campground, day use area, trail system, and large 150-space boat launch area, ADEM shared. The agency stated the park annually hosts about 300,000 visitors and provides one of the largest marina facilities on the Tennessee River system.
That project, using 8,999 tons of asphalt, kept over 103,000 pounds of scrap tire material out of landfills.
“The parking areas at the lodge, marina, cottage area and golf course pro shop, which amount to approximately 162,000 square feet of surfacing, were resurfaced with RMA,” ADEM shared. “There were 103,997 pounds of tire material used. Grayson Carter & Son Contracting performed the work.”
In the end, 6.5 miles of roadways were resurfaced, in addition to the parking areas.
ADEM’s spokesperson explained the Lake Guntersville and DeSoto State Park items were completed together as a single project with several roads within the parks resurfaced using a balanced mix design (BMD) with recycled rubber additive. These projects used 7,225 tons of asphalt and kept over 52,000 pounds of scrap tire material out of landfills.
At the Joe Wheeler State Park in spring 2024, the main roads were resurfaced using a balanced mix design (BMD) with recycled rubber additive.
“These projects are highly visible to the public with Guntersville campground receiving more than 500,000 visitors per year,” ADEM shared. “52,800 pounds of tire material was used. Wiregrass Construction performed the paving.”
In the end, 4.9 miles of roadways were resurfaced, in addition to the parking lot.
With the success of using RMA in award-winning partnership, ADEM will continue the sustainable practice. In addition to the State Parks projects, ADEM announced earlier this year that it was awarding more than $1.3 million from the Scrap Tire Fund to St. Clair County to repave a portion of Annie Lee Road near Moody with rubber-modified asphalt.